Pope calls for an end to the "brutality of war" and collective punishment in Gaza.

Pope Leo XIV called on Sunday for an end to the "brutality of war," expressing his deep sorrow over the Israeli raid on the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip.

Three people were killed and others, including the parish priest, were injured in the attack on the Holy Family Church complex in Gaza City on Thursday.

"I appeal to the international community to respect humanitarian law and the obligation to protect civilians, and to prevent collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations," the Pope said.

Earlier, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) condemned the Israeli occupation's bombing of the Latin Monastery Church in Gaza, saying that this "represents a new crime committed against places of worship and displaced persons."

The movement said in a statement that the targeting of the church by the occupation comes "in the context of the comprehensive war of extermination against our Palestinian people in all its components."

She considered that "targeting mosques, churches, hospitals, bakeries, water wells, and all civilian facilities constitutes flagrant war crimes."

She called on the international community and the United Nations to stand against these ongoing and unprecedented crimes, "and take immediate action to halt the barbaric aggression and hold the occupation leaders accountable for their crimes against humanity."

The White House also announced that US President Donald Trump expressed his "displeasure" with the raid during a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump described the incident as a "huge mistake," according to a White House spokeswoman, who added that Trump asked Netanyahu to issue an official statement and explain what happened.

International criticism did not stop at the United States, where French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his "strong condemnation" of the bombing, noting that the church in question is under "France's historical protection."

In a post on the X platform, Macron affirmed his country's solidarity with Palestinian Christians, saying that "the continuation of this war is unjustified," calling for an "immediate ceasefire."

The French Foreign Ministry based its condemnation on 20th-century agreements between France and the Ottoman Empire, which grant France the right to protect certain Catholic religious institutions in the Holy Land.